Luggage carrying device

ABSTRACT

A portable luggage carrying dolly is provided having an upright back portion and a hinged base connected thereto. Both the back and the base include spaced composite members interconnected by transverse spacer portions which may be folded down thereby moving the composite members together and providing for subsequent collapsing of the composite member into a compact hand-held unit. The base is extendable to accommodate many pieces of luggage.

United States Patent [191 Shourek et al.

[451 Jan. 21, 1975 1 1 LUGGAGE CARRYING DEVICE [76] Inventors: Ruth W. Shourek; John Edward Shourek, both of 600 W. Forest Ave., West Chicago, 111. 60185 22 Filed: July 12, 1973 21 Appl.No.: 378,771

[52] US. Cl. 280/5.24, 280/34 B, 280/36 C, 280/41 D, 21 l/l78 R [51] Int. Cl B62b 5/02, B62b 1/00 [58] Field of Seareh..... 211/178 R; 280/36 C, 36 R, 280/41 D, 34 B, 5.24

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,602,675 7/1952 Forman 280/36 C 2,653,826 9/1953 Yen-Shen Lu.... 280/36 C 2,801,861 8/1957 Hanson 280/524 X 2,809,047 10/1957 Strohmaier 280/36 C 2,872,202 2/1959 Tripoli 280/36C 2,985,316 5/1961 Ruhnke 211/178 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,509,040 11/1966 France 280/36 C Primary Examiner-Allen W. Knowles Attorney, Agent, or Firm-James J, Conlon [57] ABSTRACT A portable luggage carrying dolly is provided having an upright back portion and a hinged base connected thereto. Both the back and the base include spaced composite members interconnected by transverse spacer portions which may be folded down thereby moving the composite members together and providing for subsequent collapsing of the composite member into a compact hand-held unit. The base is extendable to accommodate many pieces of luggage.

12 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PMEHTED JAHZI I975 sum 2 or 2 'l" a g i k LUGGAGE CARRYING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention pertains to portable luggage carrying devices which may be folded or collapsed into a compact unit.

2. Description of the Prior Art While some disclosures have sought to provide a portable luggage carrying device such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,600 and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,612,563, the applicants luggage carrier provides an improved stabilized and rigidified unit capable of carrying a plurality of pieces of luggage on an extendable base and also having stabilizing members which prevent tipping of the unit during luggage transport.

SUMMARY The nature of this invention is directed to luggage carrying devices and in particular those devices which may be collapsed into a portable, lightweight, and compact unit which may be easily carried by hand.

Operative features of the invention are provided by including a pair of spaced uprights or posts which form a back portion of the luggage carrier and are hingedly connected to a pair of associated horizontally disposed leg members which form the lower or bottom portion and upon which luggage is positioned for transport. Each of the upright and base portions have telescoping portions which provide an adjustable length capability to both the base and the upright or back portions which may be varied depending upon the quantity and the weight of the luggage being carried. Additionally, the spaced members of the back and the base portions are interconnected by rigidifying crossbar assemblies which stabilize the entire unit by interconnecting the space members thereby preventing tipping of the luggage or the dolly. A luggage holddown strap is also provided to extend between the base and back portions of the luggage carrier and forms an enclosed triangle which functions to retain the transported luggage securely in position.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a lightweight portable luggage transporting device having collapsing and folding portions thereby enabling the unit to be folded into a compact assembly which may be easily hand carried.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable luggage carrying device including an upright or back portion comprising a pair of spaced upright post members interconnected by crossbars and rigidly held in the spaced operative position thereby.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a base portion pivotally connected to an associated rigidified upright or back portion and provide the base portion with a pair of spaced side leg members also interconnected by rigidifying crossbar members and including telescoping portions thereby providing for an adjustable length to said spaced portions.

Another object of the present invention is to provide roller means on the lower and outer portions of each of the upright members of the back portion thereby enabling the luggage carrying device to easily and efficiently ascend and descend stairs.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide wheel means at the junction of the back and the base portions of the luggage carrying device and also include base support legs depending from the side members of the base portion and providing ground support for the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a luggage carrying device having spaced upright post portions forming a back of the luggage dolly and having attached thereto base portions also comprising telescoping members which may be extended to an'operative position and collapsed to a stored position.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a flexible holddown strap extending from the end portion of both the back and base portions of the luggage transporting device and having luggage engaging and restraining portions for securely holding transported luggage on the dolly.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from reference to the following description, attached drawings and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorial illustration of the luggage carrying device in a folded position within a carrying case; FIG. 2 is a pictorial illustrationof a luggage carrying device in the unfolded operative position with luggage shown in phantom;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the luggage carrying device illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the luggage transporting dolly illustrated in FIG. 3 showing, in phantom, the back portion in the collapsed position;

FIG. 5 is a removed and enlarged view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken generally along line 66 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 7 is a pictorial view of a modification of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, there is shown the luggage carrying device I0 as it will appear in the collapsed position and positioned within an associated carrying case 10a. It is contemplated that in the folded position the luggage transported device 10 will be compact enough to be easily hand held and lightweight enough to permit convenient transport.

FIG. 2 shows a pictorial illustration of the luggage carrying device in the fully expanded operative position and discloses an upright or back portion designated generally by the numeral I1 and including a pair of posts Ila and a pivotally attached lower or base por tion 12 connected thereto. The upright back portion 11 includes a pair of spaced uprights Ila comprising an upper telescoping portion l3'forming the top part of the back portion, an intermediate telescoping portion 14, and a lower telescoping portion 15. These telescoping portions form the posts designated generally by the numeral lla which are spaced apart and form the basic outer frame member of the back assembly 11.

The lower or base portion 12 upon which luggage is initially positioned prior to movement includes a pair of spaced leg assemblies including leg portions 16 which are pivotally attached to the upright or back portion 11 and have a hollow portion into which an extendable leg portion 17 may reciprocate into thereby adjusting the length of the base portion 12. Interconnecting the spaced legs of the base portion 12 is a flexible connecting member 18 which corresponds to an associated flexible connecting member similarly designated by the numeral 18 which extends between the upright legs 11a of the back portion 11 and is used as a fixed connecting member for attachment of an adjustable strap 19 which is provided to secure luggage to the luggage carrier and also to form a reinforced triangular structure in combination with the pivotally connected back portion 11 and the associated base portion 12. Thus, by utilizing an extendable member or adjustable strap 19 which may contain a buckle or other suitable length adjusting means 20 to surround the luggage which is being transported, and which is indicated in phantom by the number 21 in FIG. 2, the applicant has eliminated the need for a heavy duty hinged connection to absorb the high stresses which are normally produced when a cantilever connection is provided between the lower or base portion 12 and the attached upright or back portion 11. Also, by utilizing a belt to interconnect the end portions of both the back portion 11 and the lower or base portion 12, the invention allows for providing an extendable lower base portion 12 which may be adjusted to increase the number of pieces of luggage which may be transported. The belt in interconnecting the upper and lower portions will be placed in tension depending on the load of the transported luggage and, as mentioned above, has eliminated the requirement of a heavy duty hinged connection which normally must be provided between the lower base of a dolly and the associated upright or back portion.

The posts 11a of the back portion ll may terminate with a rubber or plastic cap portion or handle 22 which is fixedly attached to the upper telescoping portion 13 and which is provided to facilitate ease of grasping the luggage carrier.

As noticed in FIG. 4 and particularly in FIG. 6, each of the telescoping portions 11a of the back portion 11 and the telescoping portions 16, 17 of the base portion 12 are interconnected with an indexing or locking assembly 23 which retains the telescoping portions in their extended position. The biasing means contemplated for use with this invention includes a cantilever spring biasing member designated generally by the numeral 24 and which may be attached by any suitable means to the outside of a receiving telescoping member and includes a pair of spaced cantilever arm portions 25 which engage locking rollers or small ball bearing members 26 which are positioned within an. opening in an outer receiving telescoping member and extend into a smaller opening or depression 27 in the inside telescoping member. The small opening or depression 27 in the inside telescoping portion 17 allows the ball 26 to snap into the depression and thereby, in combination with the spring biasing force provided by the cantilever flat spring arm 25, retain the telescoping portion in the extended position. Likewise, the telescoping portions may include detents or small openings which permit them to be snapped into the folded position and likewise held in the closed or folded position.

The legs 17 of the base 12 may have a plurality of length adjusting openings 27 to allow for adjusting the length of the base 12.

In the open and extended position both the upright legs 11a of the back portion 11 and the spaced outer legs 16 of the lower or base portion 12 are interconnected by crossbar assemblies designated generally by the numeral 28 and which will hereinafter be described.

These crossbar assemblies 28 are disclosed as horizontally extending members but also may be diagonally disposed to interconnect the associated upright portions for stabilizing the luggage carrying unit in the expanded position.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 4, a detailed explanation of the crossbar assembly 28 will be forthcoming. The description of the crossbar assembly 28 will be directed to the crossbar interconnecting the upright posts 11a of the back portion 11 which is disclosed with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4 but the description given will apply similarly to all of the crossbar assemblies 28 which interconnect the spaced portions of both the up right or back portion 11 and also the lower or base portion 12.

As noticed in FIG. 4, the crossbar assembly 28 is pivotally attached at pivot point 29 to the spaced upright legs 11a. The crossbar assembly 28 includes a common pivot 30 which interconnects a first crossbar portion 31 and a second associated crossbar portion 32. The pivot 30 includes a pin fixedly attached to the second bar portion 32 and which extends through a slot 33 in the second bar portion 32. Of course the pivot pin will include a head portion which forms a connection between the two bar members and prevents disjoining of the two members. Such a construction is well known to one having ordinary skill in the art and is not disclosed in detail herein.

Because it is desired to provide a luggage transporting unit which may be easily collapsed by simple closing force application by a person using the luggage carrying device, it is therefore required that the crossbar assembly 28 not include any complicated locking or latching mechanism which wouldrequire manual unlocking movement to allow the associated upright to be pushed together into a collapsed position. Therefore the invention provides the first bar portion 31 with a rounded or cammed nose portion 34 positioned adjacent an associated cammed surface 35 which is part of the second bar portion 32. The spacing between the nose portion 34 and the associated cam surface 35 corresponds to the length of the slot 33 and will be understood to permit the crossbar to break downwardly as the spaced posts 11a are urged together. As the upright posts 11a are moved together the camming action between the nose 34 and the cam surface 35 will produce a downward folding movement of the first bar portion 31 and the second bar portion 32.

A locking pin 36 is positioned on the second bar portion and is receiveable within an associated locking lip cutout 37 which is formed in the first bar portion 31. When the locking lip 37 has received the lock pin 36 horizontal movement of the crossbar assembly is prevented. Associated with this Iocking lip cutout 37 is an inclined or sloped surface 37a which also may act in combination with the lock pin 36 to provide a camming action which results in the crossbar components 31, 32 folding upon horizontal compressive movement of the crossbar assembly when it is desired to collapse the luggage carrier.

As noticed in FIGS. 2 and 4, the crossbar assembly 28 which interconnects the lower telescoping portions- 15 of the upright or back portion 11 is the reverse of the crossbar assembly which is used to connect the intermediate portions 14. By this reverse positioning the bottom crossbar assembly 28 will fold upwardly as the upright legs 11a are moved toward each other and the crossbar assembly 28 will assume the folded position illustrated in phantom in the bottom left portion of FIG. 4. After this lateral collapsing movement of the upright legs has been completed the telescoping upright portions are then pushed together and will thereby assume the folded collapsed position which is also illustrated in phantom in FIG. 4.

The luggage carrier may also include the wheels or rollers designated by the numeral 38 which provide for ease of movement when loaded with heavy luggage. These wheels 38 are contemplated as being positioned at the lower terminal portion of the upright legs 11a and may be associated with the hinge gussets 39 which interconnect both the upright back portion 11 and the base portion 12. These hinge gussets 39 may be interconnected by a bottom connecting plate 39a which impinges upon the leg 16 of the base portion 12 and is intended to permit the luggage carrying device to stand freely in the upright position and also provide support to the base portion when only a few pieces of luggage are being carried and it is not necessary to use the strap 18 to connect the upright back portion 11 with the base 12. As mentioned previously, because of the utilization of an adjustable strap 19 this bottom gusset connecting plate 39a need not be a heavy duty member which must absorb the cantilever forces produced by heavy luggage placed along the base 12.

The crossbar assembly 28 illustrated in FIG. 2 may be dimensioned to provide smooth operation when the members they connect are urged together. Additionally, the first and second bar portions may include a holding means such as the indexing assembly 23 which retains the telescoping post portions in the extended position. The holding means (not shown) would retain the crossbar assembly rigidly in the operative horizontal position.

Additionally, means are provided for permitting ease of movement up and down steps with a load of luggage by providing the lower telescoping portions with a step roller assembly 41 which is shown generally in FIG. 3 and with the specific details disclosed in FIG. 5. This roller assembly includes a plurality of roller members and as shown includes ball bearings 42, however roller bearings or other suitable means may be utilized which will allow ease of movement up and down steps. These rollers 42 are retained within a vertically extending roller keeper or race 43.

Base support legs 40 are attached at the end of the leg 16 of the base portion 12 and also assist in permitting the luggage carrier 10 to stand in an upright position in preparation for loading and also to permit convenient stopping of the luggage carrier when loaded.

In the modification shown in FIG. 7 the intersecting crossbar members 28a and the horizontally extending crossbars 31a may be used for rigidifying the upright portion 11 and the base portion 12. The members 280 are connected at their mid points by a slider block 28b which allows the diagonally intersecting members to be folded as the posts 11a are brought together. The crossbars 28a and 31a are pivotally connected at one end to an associated upright post and at the other end is a bent portion 31b insertable into a locking opening of the lower telescoping leg portion 15, or as with the base portion 12, a locking opening in the leg l6 of the base portion 12.

THE OPERATION The description of the operation will be given with reference to folding the luggage carrier 10 from an expanded unfolded position to a folded position whereby it may be easily carried in a handheld carrying case.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, when the luggage carrier 10 is loaded and ready for movement the flexible and adjustable strap 19 will interconnect the extreme end portions of the upright back portion 11 and the pivotally attached lower or base portion 12 thereby forming a triangular transporting structure and eliminating the need for large heave hinge members interconnecting the pivotally attached lower and back sections.

To collapse the luggage carrier 10 after the luggage has been unloaded the lower or base portion is merely pivotally moved into a position adjacent the upright or back portion 11 whereby both portions may be shortened by pushing down the telescoping members followed by a lateral joining of their spaced leg portions; or, the leg portions 17 and posts 11a may be initially moved into a contiguous relationship followed by compression of the telescoping members. The invention does not require a given sequence of folding and will allow for either alternate method. As mentioned earlier, the crossbar assemblies 28 are so positioned as to 1 fold conveniently adjacent the telescoping members of the luggage carrier 10 and by providing the interacting cam and slope portions the crossbar component portions 31 and 32 will fold in a predetermined direction thus enabling the luggage carrier to be easily, conveniently and rapidly and reliably folded and unfolded.

The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable luggage carrying device having collapsible portions to provide for folded transport and including an upright back portion and a base portion which are unfoldable into an operative extended position, the improvement comprising:

said upright back portion including a pair of spaced post means and each post means comprising a plurality of joined sections including extensible and collapsible sections;

said base portion including a pair of spaced leg members pivotally attached to an associated post means of the upright back portion;

collapsible crossbar means interconnecting the spaced post means of the upright back, and crossbar means also interconnecting the spaced leg members of the base portion;

each of said crossbar means being constructed to pivotally attach to at least one of the associated post means of the upright back and also to pivotally attach to one of the spaced leg members of the base portion, whereby each of said spaced post means and each of said spaced leg members may be selectively moved into an adjacent collapsed position thus reducing the size of the luggage carrying device for easy portable transport.

2. The invention according to claim 1, and:

said leg members also including extensible portions thereby providing said base portion with an adjustable length to adapt to various sized pieces of luggage.

3. The invention according to claim 1, and:

said plurality of joined sections of the spaced post means and said spaced leg members each comprising at least two telescoping segments; and

biased detent means mounted on at least one of said telescoping segments for restraining engagement with the associated telescoping segments when said telescoping segments are extended to said operative extended position.

4. The invention according to claim 1, and:

flexible belt means having spaced end portions attached to both the back portion and the base portion to thereby form an enclosed triangle for restraining the transported luggage.

5. The invention according to claim 1, and:

said collapsible crossbar means comprising pivotally interconnected bar members connecting the spaced post means of the back portion and the spaced leg members of said base portion;

said collapsible crossbar means including first and second portions joined by a pivotal connection and said pivotal connection comprising lost motion slot and pin means providing relative lateral movement between the first and second portions of the crossbar means;

said first and said second portions of the collapsible crossbar means also including cam means cooperating to provide folding of the collapsible crossbar means during said relative lateral movement of the first and second portions of the collapsible crossbar means.

6. The invention according to claim 1, and:

said post means of the upright back portion including lower post portions being connected to said base portion by hinge means and said lower post portion also including step ascending means comprising a vertically extending keeper having step contacting friction reducing means contained therein.

7. The invention according to claim 5, and:

said cam means including a nose portion and an associated cam surface and said cam surface having an inclined portion for cooperative engagement with said nose portion to thereby fold said collapsible crossbar means upon said relative lateral movement between said first and second portions of the crossbar means.

8. The invention according to claim 1, and:

said crossbar means including one piece members interconnecting the spaced post means of the upright back portion and interconnecting the spaced leg members of the base portion;

each of said one piece members including one end fixedly attached to said luggage carrying device and the other end removably attached to the luggage carrying device to thereby facilitate folding and collapsing of said luggage carrying device.

9. A luggage carrying device comprising:

a two-component frame member including an upright back portion and a horizontally extending base portion adapted to receive and transport luggage;

hinge means pivotally connecting the back portion and the base portion;

said back portion including spaced post means being interconnected by crossbar means;

said base portion including leg portions attached to said hinge means and rotatable from an operative horizontal position to a stored position adjacent said upright portion;

said leg portions having nonextendable portions and also having extendable sections movable from a stored position adjacent the nonextendable portions to an operative position protruding from said nonextendable portions thereby accommodating transport of additional luggage;

said crossbar means having at least one end pivotally attached to an associated part of the upright back portion and also having locking means for fixedly and securely spacing apart the posts whereby each of said post means may be selectively moved into an adjacent collapsed position thus reducing the size of the luggage carrying device for portable transport.

10'. The invention according to claim 9, and:

said upright back portion including spaced post por tions having telescoping sections;

said leg portions of the base portion also being interconnected by crossbar means;

said crossbar means comprising collapsible members thereby providing for lateral folding of the upright back portion and the horizontally extending base portion.

ll.v The invention according to claim 9, and:

flexible means having portions attached to both the upright back portion and to the horizontally extending base portion thereby forming an enclosed reinforcing triangle about said luggage.

12. The invention according to claim 10, and

said crossbar means comprising first and second bar members pivotally attached to the luggage carrying device and interconnected by pivot means;

said pivot means including a pivotal connection joining the first and second bar members and also including first and second bar locking means comprising a locking portion extending from one of said bar members and an associated receiving portion provided on the other locking member. 

1. A portable luggage carrying device having collapsible portions to provide for folded transport and including an upright back portion and a base portion which are unfoldable into an operative extended position, the improvement comprising: said upright back portion including a pair of spaced post means and each post means comprising a plurality of joined sections including extensible and collapsible sections; said base portion including a pair of spaced leg members pivotally attached to an associated post means of the upright back portion; collapsible crossbar means interconnecting the spaced post means of the upright back, and crossbar means also interconnecting the spaced leg members of the base portion; each of said crossbar means being constructed to pivotally attach to at least one of the associated post means of the upright back and also to pivotally attach to one of the spaced leg members of the base portion, whereby each of said spaced post means and each of said spaced leg members may be selectively moved into an adjacent collapsed position thus reducing the size of the luggage carrying device for easy portable transport.
 2. The invention according to claim 1, and: said leg members also including extensible portions thereby providing said base portion with an adjustable length to adapt to various sized pieces of luggage.
 3. The invention according to claim 1, and: said plurality of joined sections of the spaced post means and said spaced leg members each comprising at least two telescoping segments; and biased detent means mounted on at least one of said telescoping segments for restraining engagement with the associated telescoping segments when said telescoping segments are extended to said operative extended position.
 4. The invention according to claim 1, and: flexible belt means having spaced end portions attached to both the back portion and the base portion to thereby form an enclosed triangle for restraining the transported luggage.
 5. The invention according to claim 1, and: said collapsible crossbar means comprising pivotally interconnected bar members connecting the spaced post means of the back portion and the spaced leg members of said base portion; said collapsible crossbar means including first and second portions joined by a pivotal connection and said pivotal connection comprising lost motion slot and pin means providing relative lateral movement between the first and second portions of the crossbar means; said first and said second portions of the collapsible crossbar means also including cam means cooperating to provide folding of the collapsible crossbar means during said relative lateral movement of the first and second portions of the collapsible crossbar means.
 6. The invention according to claim 1, and: said post means of the upright back portion including lower post portions being connected to said base portion by hinge means and said lower post portion also including step ascending means comprising a vertically extending keeper having step contacting friction reducing means contained therein.
 7. The invention according to claim 5, and: said cam means including a nose portion and an associated cam surface and said cam surface having an inclined portion for cooperative engagement with said nose portion to thereby fold said collapsible crossbar means upon said relative lateral movement between said first and second portions of the crossbar means.
 8. The invention according to claim 1, and: said crossbar means including one piece members interconnecting the spaced post means of the upright back portion and interconnecting the spaced leg members of the base portion; each of said one piece members including one end fixedly attached to said luggage carrying device and the other end removably attached to the luggage carrying device to thereby facilitate folding and collapsing of said luggAge carrying device.
 9. A luggage carrying device comprising: a two-component frame member including an upright back portion and a horizontally extending base portion adapted to receive and transport luggage; hinge means pivotally connecting the back portion and the base portion; said back portion including spaced post means being interconnected by crossbar means; said base portion including leg portions attached to said hinge means and rotatable from an operative horizontal position to a stored position adjacent said upright portion; said leg portions having nonextendable portions and also having extendable sections movable from a stored position adjacent the nonextendable portions to an operative position protruding from said nonextendable portions thereby accommodating transport of additional luggage; said crossbar means having at least one end pivotally attached to an associated part of the upright back portion and also having locking means for fixedly and securely spacing apart the posts whereby each of said post means may be selectively moved into an adjacent collapsed position thus reducing the size of the luggage carrying device for portable transport.
 10. The invention according to claim 9, and: said upright back portion including spaced post portions having telescoping sections; said leg portions of the base portion also being interconnected by crossbar means; said crossbar means comprising collapsible members thereby providing for lateral folding of the upright back portion and the horizontally extending base portion.
 11. The invention according to claim 9, and: flexible means having portions attached to both the upright back portion and to the horizontally extending base portion thereby forming an enclosed reinforcing triangle about said luggage.
 12. The invention according to claim 10, and said crossbar means comprising first and second bar members pivotally attached to the luggage carrying device and interconnected by pivot means; said pivot means including a pivotal connection joining the first and second bar members and also including first and second bar locking means comprising a locking portion extending from one of said bar members and an associated receiving portion provided on the other locking member. 